D
The United States is one of the richest countries in the world. Most people live in urban areas, and the large stretch of land left unused is full of scenic beauty. On the one hand it is proud of its urban areas, and on the other hand, it has the rich wealth of forests, mountains, plains and much more.
On the east coast of the country there are cities like New York, the leading city in business. Washington, D.C. is the capital of the country, where you will get an opportunity to see the White House. The city will simply impress you, with many museums showing the culture, lifestyle, art and architecture of the country. Another place worth visiting is Miami, one of the most popular international tourist destinations. It is also well known for its Latin culture, wonderful urban nightlife and beaches.
Moving to the west coast, you will come across the most amazing places in which to relax. Los Angeles is the place where you can see life in all its many forms; this city is world-famous for its Hollywood film industry. It also has beaches that can offer breathtaking surfing experiences.
Moving on to the Pacific Coast Highway, we get to see the beauty of San Francisco. Clean beaches and mountains topped (盖住) by clouds are worth seeing. Travelers can enjoy day trips to beaches, deserts and wine-producing regions. Chicago lies on the shore of the Great Lakes and is believed to be the fastest growing city in the world, with its high standard of living and rich lifestyles. The city is a center for many theaters and is world-famous for its strong tradition of music jazz and the blues.
53. According to the first paragraph, we know that ______.
A. most American people live in the countryside
B. a lot of land has not been used in the US
C. the US has the largest forest in the world
D. the US has a larger area of urban land than wild land
54. Which city in the US is famous for its Latin culture?
A. New York. B. San Francisco.
C. Los Angeles. D. Miami.
55. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. The article refers to four cities on the east coast.
B. You can go to Los Angeles to experience surfing.
C. You cannot enjoy the blues in Chicago.
D. San Francisco is a center for many theaters.
56. What is the text mainly about?
A. One of the reasons why the US is rich.
B. The customs and culture of the US.
C. A brief introduction to some American cities.
D. The beautiful landscapes of the US.
Wugging, or web use giving, describes the act of giving to charity at no cost to the user. By using Everyclick.com, which is being added to a number of university computers across the UK, students can raise money every time they search, but it won’t cost them a penny.
Research shows that students are extremely passionate about supporting charity — 88% of full time students have used the Internet to give to charity. This age group is often the least likely to have their own income. 19% of 22 to 24 year olds have short-term debts of more than £5,000. With rising personal debt levels in this age group, due to university tuition fees or personal loans and a lack of long-term savings, traditional methods of donating to charity are often not appealing (有感染力的) or possible.
Beth Truman, a 21 year old recent university graduate, has used Everyclick.com to donate to her chosen charity, the RSPCA, for two years and has seen the “wugging” movement grow in popularity with students. “When you’re at university you become more socially aware, but it’s sometimes hard to give to others when you have little money yourself,” says Beth. “Wugging is great for people in this age group as it allows them to use the technology on a daily basis to give to charity, without costing them a single penny.”
Wugging is perfect for people who want to be more socially aware and supportive but don’t feel they have the means to do so. Students using the web can raise money for causes they care about without costing them anything in terms of time or money, and charities get a valuable source of funding.
Everyclick.com works like any other search engine, allowing users to search for information, news and images but users can decide which of the UK’s 170,000 charities they would like to support through their clicks. Everyclick.com then makes monthly payments to every registered charity. Launched in June 2005, Everyclick.com is now the eighth largest search engine and one of the busiest charity websites in the UK.According to the passage, “wugging” is actually ______.
| A．a website |
| B．a charity-related action |
| C．a school organization |
| D．a student movement |
In the case of charity, Everyclick.com ______.
| A．frees students of the financial worries |
| B．receives much money from students |
| C．offers valuable information to students |
| D．praises students for their money-raising |
What does Beth Truman think of the “wugging” movement?
| A．It makes Everyclick.com popular in the UK. |
| B．It becomes easy to do charity because of it. |
| C．It results in students’ more social awareness. |
| D．It helps students to save money. |
From the passage, we can conclude that ______.
| A．most full time students do charity on the Internet every day |
| B．Everyclick.com helps students pay for the college education |
| C．“wugging” is a win-win idea for both students and charities |
| D．Everyclick.com is the most successful search engine in the UK |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．“Wugging”, a new popular term on the Internet. |
| B．British people show strong interest in charity. |
| C．More Britain charities benefit from the Internet. |
| D．Students raise money for charity by “wugging”. |
Why do men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age.
The largest study of the effects of ageing on the heart has found that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age.
“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
“Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink. “This is part of the ageing process.”
What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one’s.
“This gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink. They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease. “The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart,” said Goldspink.
The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age. The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph probably refers to “________”.
| A．health | B．long life | C．ageing | D．effect |
The text mainly talks about ________.
| A．men’s heart cells |
| B．women’s ageing process、 |
| C．the gender difference |
| D．hearts and long life |
According to the text, the UK scientists have known that ________.
| A．women have more cells than men when they are born |
| B．women can replace the cells that enable the heart to beat |
| C．the female heart loses few of the cells with age |
| D．women never lose their pumping power with age |
If you want to live longer, you should ________.
| A．enable your heart to beat much faster |
| B．find out the reason for ageing |
| C．exercise regularly to keep your heart healthy |
| D．prevent your cells from being lost |
We can know from the passage that ________.
| A．the reason why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart has been found out |
| B．scientists are on the way to finding out why the male heart loses more of the cells |
| C．the team has done something to prevent the male from suffering the greater loss |
| D．women over 70 could lose more heart cells than those at the age of 20 |
“Children who eat less salt and drink fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks may significantly lower their risks of obesity,” researchers recently reported in the journal Hypertension.
“Sugar-sweetened soft drinks are a significant source of calorie intake in children,” said Feng J. He, a researcher at St George’s University of London, England. “It has been shown that sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption is related to obesity in young people.” They wanted to know whether there is a link between salt intake and sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption.
Dr He and colleagues analyzed data from a 1997 national survey of more than 2,000 people between 4 and 18 in Britain. “We found that children eating a lower-salt diet drank less fluid,” said He. “From our research, we estimated that 1 gram of salt cut from their daily diet would reduce fluid intake by 100 grams per day.”
The researchers also found that children eating a lower-salt diet drank fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks. From their research, they predicted that reducing salt intake by 1 gram each day would reduce sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption by 27 grams per day, after. “If children aged 4 to 18 cut their salt intake by half, there would be a decrease of about two sugar-sweetened soft drinks per week per child, so each child would decrease calorie intake by almost 250 kilocalories per week,” Dr He said.
In previous studies, researchers found that a low-salt diet lowers blood pressure in children, and prevents the development of high blood pressure later in life. “Both high blood pressure and obesity increase the risk of having strokes and heart attacks,” Dr He said.
Dr He recommends that parents check labels and choose low-salt food products. “Small reductions in the salt content of 10 to 20 percent cannot be detected by the human salt taste receptors (感受器) and do not cause any technological or safety problems,” Dr He said.According to the passage, obesity is directly linked to ______.
| A．high-salt foods |
| B．sugar-sweetened soft drinks |
| C．high blood pressure |
| D．strokes and heart attacks |
Compared with previous studies, the recent one found that ______.
| A．a lower-salt diet may mean less sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption |
| B．a low-salt diet keeps children out of high blood pressure |
| C．children face the risk of having strokes and heart attacks |
| D．low-salt food products do not do harm to people’s health |
Which of the following statements would Dr He agree to?
| A．The less salt people eat, the healthier people become. |
| B．Children should reduce fluid intake in their daily life. |
| C．No high-salt food products will be available in shops. |
| D．A low-salt diet may prevent both high blood pressure and obesity. |
After reading the passage, who should take effective action?
| A．Children. | B．Parents. | C．Doctors. | D．Researchers. |
A traveler was passing through a desert on a hot day. He was tired, feeling thirsty and hungry. At least, he needed a shady spot to rest for a while. A big leafy tree came into view at some distance away. He felt glad and said to himself, “Had I water to drink, now.” Yes, he found a glass full of cold water on the ground right in front of him. Then, he wished, “Had I something to eat right here.” Immediately, a variety of dishes appeared before him. He was under the shade of Kalpa-Vriksha — a magical tree. Whoever was under it would have whatever he wished for!
The traveler enjoyed the delicious food. He felt drowsy. He wished for a nice bed. It was granted. He stretched himself comfortably on the soft mattress. He hoped that someone would massage (按摩) his feet. Yes, a young lady appeared. She started massaging his feet and legs.
He now started thinking differently. “How can things happen like this? Is it some kind of a trick played by a magical demon (魔鬼)?” he doubted. Oh, a true demon appeared in place of the nice lady! Within no time the demon started leaping at him, with his mouth wide open. The frightened traveler took to his heels and ran away.What will happen if you sit under the magical tree?
| A．You will get what you want. |
| B．You will marry a young girl. |
| C．You will meet a demon. |
| D．You will get rid of all your trouble. |
The underlined word “drowsy” in the second paragraph means “_______”.
| A．hungry | B．sleepy | C．thirsty | D．cold |
How many wishes did the traveler make?
| A．3 | B．4 | C．5 | D．6. |
One event that helps educate young people about things they can do for others is National Youth Service Day (NYSD). Every year on this day, organizations all over the country celebrate young volunteers, educate young people about how they can help their country, and invite them to participate in service projects. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said, “National Youth Service Day honors young volunteers and is an invitation to others to join hands and do our part as Americans.”
Founded in 1988, NYSD originally took place on a Tuesday. Now the event lasts from Friday until Sunday so that more people can participate in it. More than 200 organizations work together to create thousands of projects each year. Millions of young people across the United States take part in these service projects.
Long before the event, people, community groups, schools, and nonprofit organizations think of ways to meet their communities’ needs. Then, they plan projects for young volunteers. Projects include bringing food to hungry people, tutoring younger children and helping senior citizens. During the event, young people from the community do things like planting neighborhood gardens and cleaning up local parks.
The organizations that contribute to NYSD believe that volunteering and community service are important activities for people of all ages, but especially for young people. Young people who volunteer are more likely to do well in school, vote, and contribute to charities. More important, they help other people and make the world a better place for everyone.The aim of National Youth Service Day is to _______.
| A．educate young people on responsibility |
| B．invite young people to meet each other |
| C．encourage young people to serve others |
| D．celebrate the growth of young people |
On National Youth Service Day, young volunteers will _______.
| A．do some cleaning in public places |
| B．prepare food for hungry people |
| C．plant vegetables and fruit |
| D．help old people to learn |
The purpose of writing this passage is to _______.
| A．warn young people not to affect their schooling during volunteering |
| B．keep a record of how young people celebrate their festival |
| C．introduce an event — National Youth Service Day |
| D．advise young people to be cooperative when volunteering |